Navigation-related functions are provided on various different computer platforms. For example, navigation-related functions can be provided with standalone systems or networked systems. In a standalone system, the software applications, geographic data, and hardware are combined at a single location. A standalone system may be installed in a vehicle or carried by a person. In a networked system, some of the software or geographic data are located with the hardware with the user and some of the software or geographic data are located remotely and accessed over a communications system.
Navigation-related functions are provided by systems implemented on dedicated platforms in which the hardware and software are specifically designed for navigation purposes. Alternatively, systems that provide navigation-related features can be implemented on general purpose computing platforms (such as personal computers, personal digital assistants, or networked computers) using appropriate software applications and data. Dedicated navigation systems and general purpose computing platforms that run navigation applications (hereinafter referred to collectively as “navigation systems”) provide a variety of useful features and services. For example, navigation systems used in vehicles can provide detailed instructions for driving to desired destinations, thereby reducing travel times and expenses. Navigation systems and navigation applications can also search for businesses of a desired type and provide routing guidance to locations of such businesses.
One consideration associated with these systems relates to how places are specified to the system by a user. For example, when a user wishes to obtain guidance from a navigation system for following a route to a destination, it is necessary that the user indicate, by some means, the destination to the system. The function of specifying a destination can be complicated for various reasons. One complication occurs when cities or other destinations have the same or similar names. For example, the city of Arlington is found in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
To simplify the destination entry process, lists are manually prepared to prioritize similar names for cities or other destinations. For example, the manually prepared list of city names that include the name “Chicago” lists Chicago first, followed by Chicago Heights and Chicago Ridge, as it is expected that a person that specifies Chicago as a destination most likely desires guidance to the city of Chicago. When a user of a navigation system specifies “Chicago” as a destination, the navigation system displays the manually prepared list to the user for destination selection.
As there are many similar names that may be used in a destination entry process, it would be beneficial to automatically generate rankings that prioritize the similarly named locations.